Shloka 8
Purañjana Goes Hunting — The Chariot of the Body, Violence of Passion, and Return to Conjugal Bondage
अन्यथा कर्म कुर्वाणो मानारूढो निबध्यते । गुणप्रवाहपतितो नष्टप्रज्ञो व्रजत्यध: ॥ ८ ॥
anyathā karma kurvāṇo mānārūḍho nibadhyate guṇa-pravāha-patito naṣṭa-prajño vrajaty adhaḥ
Otherwise, a person who acts whimsically falls down due to false prestige. Thus he becomes involved in the laws of nature, which are composed of the three qualities. In this way a living entity becomes devoid of his real intelligence and becomes perpetually lost in the cycle of birth and death.
There are many important words in this verse. The first is anyathā, “otherwise,” which indicates one who does not care for the Vedic rules and regulations. The rules and regulations laid down in the Vedas are called śāstra-vidhi. Bhagavad-gītā clearly states that one who does not accept the śāstra-vidhi, or rules and regulations mentioned in the Vedic scriptures, and acts whimsically or puffed up with false pride never attains perfection in this life, nor does he attain happiness or liberation from the material condition:
FAQs
This verse says that when duty is performed with pride and desire for honor, it binds the doer; pride pulls one into the flow of the modes and leads to spiritual downfall.
In the allegory being explained, he cautions that action without the right inner orientation—free from false prestige—does not purify; it entangles the soul in material nature.
Do your responsibilities without craving recognition, cultivate humility, and align actions with devotion and selfless service so that work purifies rather than binds.